The Korea Herald

Pro-Lee lawmakers’ group will not split

May 18, 2011

President’s loyalists ignore internal pressure to give way to reform The pro-Lee Myung-bak group within the ruling Grand National Party has decided not to disband, despite facing controversy after a by-election defeat and shuffle of in-party power. “We have a historic mission yet to fulfill and a leading role to play in supporting the current government,” said Rep. An Kyung-ryul on Wednesday. ...
G20 speakers plan talks on key issues

May 17, 2011

Following the country’s hosting of the Group of 20 summit last year, the National Assembly is set to host a parliamentary speakers’ forum from Wednesday to Friday. The G20 Seoul Speakers’ Consultation, starts off with an official welcome dinner to be attended by parliamentary speakers from 26 countries, the European Union and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The countries are mainly G20 states, b...
President stresses linkage of major research clusters

May 17, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday said the success of the envisioned multitrillion-won science belt, which is to sprawl out from Daejeon’s Daedeok area, requires close cooperation with existing research and development clusters in Daegu and Gwangju. Lee’s remarks came a day after his government announced its choice of Daedeok over Daegu and Gwangju as home to key facilities of the science belt ...
China calls for inter-Korean dialogue

May 17, 2011

Amb. Zhang Xinsen says Beijing mediating between North and South Korea Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Zhang Xinsen on Monday called for an early resumption of the inter-Korean dialogue to address bilateral issues and bring about peace and stability on the peninsula. Speaking at a forum in Seoul, Zhang also stressed that the six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing North Korea can provide an e...
Attacks may hamper Afghan PRT work

May 17, 2011

Officials put more weight on possibility of Taliban role in shelling of Korean base Relentless rocket attacks on a base for South Korean aid workers and troops in Afghanistan are expected to hamper operations to help rebuild the war-torn country amid growing public angst here over their safety. This month alone, there were three attacks apparently targeting the base in Charikar City in the nort...
S. Korea seeks U.S. staff dispatch to border island

May 17, 2011

The South Korean military is seeking consultations with the U.S. over dispatching U.S. liaison staff to Bangnyeong Island, one of the five northwestern border islands, to deter North Korean provocations, officials said Tuesday. “South Korea and the U.S. are trying to come up with measures to enhance our defense of the five frontline islands, including sending U.S. military personnel as observers...
Assembly gears up for leaders’ forum

May 17, 2011

The National Assembly is all set to host the international forum of parliamentary leaders kicking off this week. The Group of 20 Seoul Speakers’ Consultation is to start its three-day schedule on Wednesday, during which parliament speakers from G20 states and some select non-G20 states will promote inter-parliamentary cooperation and exchange. An 18-member preparatory committee was established ...
G20 speakers huddle in Seoul to explore co-prosperity

May 17, 2011

Host Speaker Park Hee-tae wants to make parliament leaders’ forum a regular event Following Seoul’s hosting of the landmark Group of 20 summit talks last year, the National Assembly is to lead a meeting of G20 parliamentary speakers this week. The G20 Seoul Speakers’ Consultation will take place in the assembly’s main Rotunda Hall from Wednesday to Friday, attended by representatives of 21 coun...
Obama discloses assets valued at $2.8 Million to $11.8 Million

May 17, 2011

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama held total assets of between $2.8 million and $11.8 million last year and reported no debt, according to federal financial disclosure forms released yesterday. The president's assets were concentrated in U.S. Treasury obligations, an investment posture that would leave him financially vulnerable if he and congressional leaders can't agree on r...
New floor leaders vow to use ‘politics of cooperation’

May 16, 2011

The new Grand National Party and Democratic Party floor leaders met Monday to exchange congratulatory messages, as well as edgy remarks over controversial issues. Rep. Kim Jin-pyo, who was elected DP floor leader on Friday, paid a courtesy visit Monday to Rep. Hwang Woo-yea of the GNP. Hwang is also acting as a proxy for the party leader whose seat will be vacant until early July. “I am glad o...
Lee faces backlash over science belt location

May 16, 2011

A day after returning from Europe, President Lee Myung-bak faced a political backlash over his government’s decision to locate the key facilities of a multitrillion-won science belt in Daejeon’s Daedeok area and LH Corp. in the southeastern city of Jinju. Cheong Wa Dae also has to deal with calls from several ruling party lawmakers, including its new floor leader, to retract the government’s add...
Reform aims for efficient command

May 16, 2011

Some retired generals doubt whether reform measures will be effective The Ministry of National Defense is pushing ahead with a major military overhaul, aiming to make its bloated command apparatus “strong, speedy and slim” and ready itself to take back wartime operational control from the U.S. in 2015. The envisioned large-scale reform comes as the military is toiling to address a series of sho...
U.S. FTA to test new floor leaders’ resolve

May 15, 2011

All eyes are on the new floor leaders of the Grand National Party and Democratic Party, who will lead their parties until the 2012 general election. Former Finance Minister Rep. Kim Jin-pyo, who was elected Friday as DP floor leader, said he would work in tune with his counterparts, especially Rep. Hwang Woo-yea of the GNP. Their predecessors, Park Jie-won of the DP and Kim Moo-sung of the GNP,...
Lee returns from European tour

May 15, 2011

President met woman who discovered books looted by France and campaigned for their return President Lee Myung-bak on Sunday returned home from a weeklong tour of Germany, Denmark and France during which he held summit talks with his counterparts to expand economic and political cooperation. Before leaving Paris on Saturday, Lee met the Korean historian Park Byeng-sen, who in 1975 found the anci...
Berlusconi calls his opponent “smelly”

May 15, 2011

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi gestures as he addresses a rally in Milan, Italy, Saturday, May 7, 2011. (AP-Yonhap News) Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi accused his political opponent of not washing enough and being smelly at a local election campaign, the Telegraph reported. Berlusconi faces key local elections scheduled for Sunday and Monday which will determine the fate of his remaining ...